Charlie Redman – Film Evaluation

I did an initial test shoot in London at Meanwhile 2 with two models, both very talented skateboarders. Skill wise they were perfect and I was able to capture some fantastic skateboarding. However the lighting was very hard to work with due to the parks location, and while the graffiti did give the film a very real and authentic look it created a different tone to the one I felt I wanted. My inspiration came from 70’s skateboarding style and photography before the time of skateparks, so I decided to shoot again at a pier location, which allowed me to focus on building my style and gave me more control than in a busy park in London. The second location I shot at was also much more secluded and I was able to just feature one model in the film, free from the distraction of pedestrians and passers by. I also had an assistant for my second shoot to help with styling and practical support, I learnt from my first test that having a second opinion and pair of hands is invaluable.
My second shoot was much closer to my moodboards, I focused on low angles and candid shots, I also focused on more simple/graceful skateboarding, so it felt less connected to the modern skateboarding scene and more reminiscent of the 70’s. The song I chose was “Cuco – We had to end it” which feature a long intro with melancholy guitar riffs, trumpets and synthesisers that I feel add to the nostalgic themes, It also has a fairly slow beat which complimented the style of skating and filming and also made it easy to make tight cuts and a clean edit. I also did some of the skateboarding for the film, as a skateboard photographer it becomes almost impossible to do a shoot and not get on a board yourself, my face was never featured, so it created a presence of another skater without clouding my main models identity. Skateboarding to me is not an isolated activity, and built on community so it felt natural for me to include another skater. The film reached the style and tones I was hoping for, but if I had more time I feel like I could have refined it, I would have loved to shoot in more exotic locations that hark back to the Santa Monica origins of skateboarding with sunsets over beach walkways in a Hugh Holland style, But in an English Autumn this was hard to replicate, however I feel like I embraced my location and limitations and created a successful film. View the final film here: